Bearcats, Lakers, Eagles start quest for state crown

Published 3:29 pm, Friday, April 22, 2016

UBLY— All season, Ubly worked extremely hard to earn its 9-0 record, capture its first league title since 1995 and have the right to host three playoff games.

The Bearcats are proud of their accomplishments, but they also know none of that matters now.

The only thing that matters to Ubly is the opening round of the Division 7 playoffs as it will host Genesee at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

“The kids realize there’s been a lot of talk about making a deep run, but now the talk means zero — it’s actions,” said Ubly coach Bill Sweeney.

Geneseecomes from the Genesee Area Conference, where it finished 6-3 overall, and tied for second in its league with a 4-2 mark.

The teams are no strangers to each other as they played in the opening round of the playoffs in 2006. That year, the Bearcats earned a 43-0 victory on their way to the state semifinals.

Overall, Ubly is 3-0 against teams from the GAC in the playoffs.

In 2001, the Bearcats defeated Burton-Bendle, 29-17, to earn their first ever playoff victory. And in 2006, they defeated Burton-Bentley, 45-6, to capture the district title.

Despite the history against teams from this conference, Sweeney insists his team is not taking the Wolves lightly.

One reason to take them very seriously is the athlete at quarterback, Garret Cook.

Cook turned in an outstanding season, throwing for 2,055 yards and 26 touchdowns while running for 965 yards and 13 scores.

“We’ve played teams from this conference before and they’ve always had really good athletes — and he’s not the only one,” Sweeney said. “They have a couple of receivers that are really good, and a couple of running backs.

“It’s a major concern. This is going to be no walk in the park.

“The feeling that we were going to walk all over them — I think Monday at our meeting that went out the window.”

Sweeney said Genesee reminds him of Vassar, a team which hung a season-high 28 points on the Bearcats.

Containing Cook is the top priority for Ubly.

“The kid puts the ball on the money,” Sweeney said. “He might not be the fastest, but what he does is he makes you miss.

“They catch everything that’s thrown to them.”

Sweeney said the key to winning the game is simple.

“If it’s a physical game, it plays into our hands. If it’s a track meet, it plays into their hands,” he said. “We just have to be physical with them and disrupt their timing and put a little pressure on the quarterback.”

Geneseehas a fine offense, averaging over 38 points per game, but its defense comes in giving up nearly 30 per contest.

It will surely be tested by what may be the best offensive group ever to play at Ubly.

Led by quarterback Jordan Kaufman, the Bearcats are just 31 points shy of setting a new school record for points in the season.

The record is 457, set in 2003, when the team made it to the state semifinals in 13 games.

For the season, Kaufman has run for 1,123 yards and 16 touchdowns and averages 13.4 yards per carry. He has also thrown for 557 yards and eight scores.

Although the offense runs through Kaufman, it also has some very good running backs who have all shared in the success.

Mitchel Cleary, Justin Cleary and Alex Peruski form a trio of shifty backs who know how to execute the Wing-T to near perfection.

They have combined for 1,773 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns and are averaging 8.69 yards per carry.

“Our base offense should be successful if we take care of the ball and block correctly because those teams don’t see the style of ball we play,” Sweeney said.

“Our offense is really geared for the playoffs and teams outside of our area.”

For Ubly, the success of the offense depends on what Sweeney calls the best offensive line he’s ever coached.

It’s anchored by 6-foot-5, 310-pound Eric LaBuhn.

“They get off the ball, they block and they’re smart,” Sweeney said.

Defensively, Sweeney believes the schedule has prepared his team for a squad like Genesee.

Ubly has seen and beaten a number of teams that run the spread offense, including playoff-bound Marlette, 49-14 in Week 1, and, of course, Vassar, 56-28, in Week 5.

With all of the attention that’s been paid to the Bearcats’ offense, their defense has gone under the radar, but it’s only given up just over 10 points per game.

Still, there are times when it is susceptible to lulls, like the opening play of the second half against Bad Axe last week when the Hatchets busted a 73-yard run for a score.

“We have little lulls defensively, but when we’re on our game, we’re pretty tough to move the ball on,” Sweeney said. “A team like Genesee, if you have one of those lulls, they could score three or four touchdowns in a hurry.”

The playoffs are a grind, Sweeney knows it, and so do the players. Almost every player on the roster has postseason experience, so they know what to expect.

“We don’t have a lot of seniors, but we’re a senior-driven team — they’ve been exceptional leaders all year,” Sweeney said. “It makes it easier for the younger kids when they can look over their shoulders and see guys that have been in that kind of situation.”

NOTES: Ubly is 2-0 against teams that made the playoffs while Genesee is 1-3 against playoff teams, with its only win coming against Burton-Bentley (77-40)… The Bearcats are tied for the most playoff points in Division 7 with 78.222 with Rochester Hills Lutheran North West, which is in the same region as the Bearcats. If they were to meet, Ubly would have the home field based on opponents’ winning percentage. The combined record of teams Ubly beat is 34-47 (.420), compared to 30-50 (.375) for Lutheran Northwest.